The absurd leg kick, the long left arm whipping across his body, the knee-high socks, the flat and cockeyed bill of his hat, that smile teams dreamed of putting on a billboard—are all etched into memory, along with the numbers that made those other things matter.

They belonged to Dontrelle Willis, onetime ace of the Florida Marlins. He was one of the best, most electric pitchers in the National League for four seasons. He was a Rookie of the Year, a two-time All-Star and a Cy Young Award runner-up all before he was 25.

Dontrelle Willis' career hangs by a thread after an abbreviated spring training debut for the Cubs. (AP Photo)

Willis’ career has been in an ugly plunge since 2007, and there’s no doubt the dive is linked to the Marlins trying to change his unique delivery. After going 12-12 with a 3.87 ERA in 223 1/3 innings for them in 2006, the left-hander from Oakland, Calif., has been with eight different organizations. His major league record during that time is 14-30; his ERA is 5.65.

Willis was making a comeback attempt with the Cubs after announcing his retirement last July. The Cubs signed him to a minor-league contract and had no intention of starting the season with him on the 40-man roster. Willis was OK with that, knowing he'd be mopping up in exhibition games.

“I don’t have any goals as far as getting back to the big leagues,” Willis said when he reported to camp.

That statement is at the opposite end of the spectrum that Willis occupied in his early 20s, when he was brash and confident and on the better side of superstardom.

After a bad 2007 season, he was included in the trade that sent Miguel Cabrera to the Detroit Tigers. Before Willis threw a pitch for Detroit, he signed a three-year, $29 million contract extension. He then made just 22 starts for the Tigers, going 2-8 with a 6.86 ERA in 24 total appearances.

While he never had outstanding command, he could always strike out hitters, but his 2.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio in five seasons with the Marlins plummeted to 0.74 with Detroit.

And even though his now-slower mechanics were off and his command had left the building, Willis’ head had become the biggest concern. Prior to the 2009 season, the Tigers put him on the disabled list with what they called an anxiety disorder. He came back to make seven awful starts (7.49 ERA), then went back on the DL with the same disorder. He stayed there the remainder of the season.

At that time, fans and some executives believed that if Willis could overcome his anxiety, he could regain at least some of the form that made him an All-Star in Miami. After all, Zack Greinke had overcome a similar disorder and had just completed his Cy Young Award season in Kansas City, so Willis was still relevant.

A year later, Willis was irrelevant.

Between June and November of 2010, he was traded from Detroit to the Arizona Diamondbacks, released by the D-backs, signed to a minor league deal by the San Francisco Giants (they never called him up), and made a free agent.

Willis has since been with the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles and Cubs. Late last April, Willis left the Orioles’ Class AAA affiliate because he didn’t like how he was being used, meaning he didn’t want to pitch out of the bullpen. The O’s placed him on the restricted list, where he stayed until early May. Two months later, Willis announced his retirement, or at least his first one.

Willis hasn’t put up respectable numbers at any of his recent stops, and that includes in the minor leagues. No one has really figured out why he went from a being perennial Cy Young candidate to one of the most disappointing players of his generation. His mechanics? His command? The pressure of living up to expectations? No one has a real answer, and neither did Willis when I spoke with him last spring.

“Sometimes you can’t figure it out so you can’t do anything but move forward,” Willis said while in Reds camp.

With the Reds, Willis seemed content and even happy to be getting another chance. This spring, Willis had a similar realization of his situation with the Cubs, who didn’t even invite him to major league camp.

“Everyone can hope to be wherever they want to be, but you have to be honest with your situation,” Willis told ESPN.com.

But after Monday, Willis’ place—modest goals aside—is uncertain. He walked the first hitter he faced, threw one pitch to the next batter and was removed with what the Cubs called tightness in his left shoulder. Willis told reporters it was a “mild setback.”

He was as optimistic as ever, but that won’t be enough this time. Neither will his leg kick, or his cocked brim or his smile. And that is sad for anyone who was a fan of the game and watched him strike out hitters with that cartoonish delivery and rack up accolades.

The Dontrelle Willis we all hoped to see is long gone. The Dontrelle Willis we hoped could just stick with a team is almost completely faded as well.